Page 66 of Whispers at Seaside
Theresa, who was officiating the wedding, stood at the head of the altar wearing a simple and elegant navy dress. Matt had never seen her in a dress. She was even wearing makeup, and she looked beautiful.
Beside him, donning matching tan linen slacks, rolled up at the ankles, and a button-down short-sleeved shirt the color of each of their bride’s dresses, Grayson, Hunter, and Sawyer waited anxiously for their beautiful brides to make their way down the candlelit aisle. The girls had spent the last few nights filling mason jars with sand and decorating them with shells and rocks they all had gathered from the beach. In the center of each jar was a candle, illuminating the path leading from the dunes to the altar. Pete and Neil stood with them as Matt and his brothers’ best men, while Sawyer’s father, who had Parkinson’s disease, sat proudly beside his son in his wheelchair with his wife at his side.
“I wish Mom could have been here,” Grayson said to Matt.
Matt nodded, emotion pooling inside him. He gazed at his father and imagined he was thinking the same thing. He looked up at the stunning sunset, which seemed to suddenly get brighter and more vivid.
Their mother had strived for one thing their whole lives, to see her children happy and loved. Today was her birthday and it was only right that they honored her with the best gift of all—by marrying their forever loves.
Matt put a hand on Grayson’s back, and his brother’s lips tipped up in a thoughtful smile. “I think she is here, Gray.”
“Yeah,” Grayson said. “I imagine she is.”
“Can you believe we’re getting married?” Sawyer asked.
Matt, Grayson, and Hunter exchanged a knowing glance. “Yes,” they all said, and laughed.
“I never thought it would happen to me,” Hunter said with a smirk. “But Jana’s…” He shook his head. “Man, she’s like no other woman on earth.”
“I think we could each say that about our woman,” Sawyer said.
Matt knew he could, but he wasn’t in the mood to debate whose future bride was hotter, smarter, funnier, and whatever else they could think of. He was ready to say the two words that would make Mira his forever. He looked out over the group of friends and family who had come to celebrate with them. All of their friends from Seaside were there, including Jamie’s grandmother Vera, who had known Matt for many years. Mira’s family, Jana’s brothers and parents, Parker’s grandmother, and the rest of their friends were chatting by the tables, while the Seaside girls, as well as all the kids, were somewhere over the dunes with the brides-to-be. Matt wished he were up there with them. He couldn’t wait to see Mira in her wedding dress and Hagen in his tan linen pants and blush-colored linen shirt, which matched Matt’s.
“Cue the music!” Evan hollered from the far end of the candlelit aisle, where he stood with a video camera in his hands and Serena and Jana’s sister Harper by his side. Matt hadn’t even seen the two women come over the dunes.
His heart rate sped up as the “Wedding March” rang out and Serena and Harper took their places on the brides’ side of the altar. They’d modified the procession to suit their group, and Bea, Summer, and Hannah appeared at the crest of the dune in their pretty seafoam-green dresses, each carrying a basket. Matt hoped to one day have a little girl who looked just like Mira. Their mothers stepped up behind them and reached for their hands. Jenna, Bella, and Amy wore similar knee-length dresses. As they made their way down the aisle, the little girls threw rose petals into the sand.
Sloan and Dustin, both two years old, appeared on the dune in their tan pants and white button-down shirts. Leanna and Jessica took their little boys’ hands and led them down the aisle. Each little boy also carried a small basket, which they’d deemed safer than a pillow with a ring on it.
Matt squared his shoulders, trying to calm his breathing as he waited for his bride to appear. He dug his toes into the sand to keep from sprinting up the dune to find Mira—the entire wedding party was barefoot. The wait felt interminable. Just when he was sure he’d stop breathing or take off in search of her, she appeared with Hagen at her side, smiling like he was the happiest little boy in the world. He beamed up at his gorgeous mother, holding tightly to her hand and gripping the handle of a basket, which Matt knew contained their wedding bands. Mira’s beautiful dark hair fell in loose, natural waves over her shoulders as she leaned down and kissed Hagen’s cheek. Her short, blush-colored, shimmery wedding dress blew in the breeze. The tank-style dress gathered at the waist in silky layers, accentuating her feminine curves. A ruffle of chiffon danced behind her, delicate and transparent, and as she and Hagen walked down the dune, he noticed pretty white beaded flowers that seemed to sprout from her toes and snake and swirl over her foot to her ankle. When they reached the sandy path that would bring them to the altar, her eyes traveled to Matt’s, and his heart turned over in his chest.
MIRA WANTED TO remember every second of this evening, from the scent of her gloxinia bouquet and the feel of Hagen’s hand in hers, to the glimmer of happiness in his baby blues. She inhaled the scents of the sea—and our future—and listened to theoohs andahhs of their family and friends as she and the girls made their way down the aisle. She’d already memorized the layout of the pretty white tables layered in seafoam green and peach, with pretty shell and flower centerpieces Lizzie had made. And as she approached the stunning altar that Matt’s brothers had made and Lizzie had decorated with streams of white, peach, and seafoam-green silk, with greenery and flowers decorating the corners and the peak at the center, it wasn’t any of those things that were etching into her mind. It was the love and bottomless happiness emanating from the man of her dreams, who had worn the sexy black-framed glasses that made her insides go hot. Her heart was clawing its way through her chest to reach him as they took their place across from him. Matt blew her a kiss and mouthedI love you, then winked at Hagen and mouthed the same. If Hagen weren’t holding her hand, she thought she might float right up to cloud nine.
The brides had each worn short, summery dresses in chiffon and silk, though none of them wore white. Jana wore lavender, and Sky wore teal. Parker’s dress was sky blue, which looked amazing with her long blond hair. Mira had chosen blush, to signify what happened to her every time she looked at her handsome groom.
Serena stepped up and took Hagen’s hand, bringing him beside her, a step behind Mira. Mira’s heart was beating so fast. Matt’s riveting gaze held her in place throughout the ceremony, until the very moment Theresa said, “You may kiss your brides.”
Matt swept Mira into his arms and said, “Hold on tight, sunshine. I’m going to kiss you for the rest of your life.”
They kissed and danced and kissed some more. Mira had never been so happy, and as she and Matt danced for the hundredth time, Hagen and the children played with Sky’s friend Cree, who’d offered to help entertain the kids. She caught sight of Rick and Harper chatting by the buffet table with Theresa and Neil. Matt’s father had a coy look about him, aflirtatiouslook. The Seaside girls danced with their husbands, and Matt’s siblings were right in the thick of it. This was her new family.Theirnew family.
“Think love is in the air?” Matt asked, glancing in the other direction, at Serena and Brandy talking with Brock, Dean, and Dean’s brother Jett.
“Which couple?” Mira asked.
Neil led Theresa to the area where everyone was dancing, and they blended right in.
“You tell me.” Matt smiled, eyeing his father, and then he nodded toward Drake, who was watching Serena talking with Jett. Drake looked like he was chewing on nails.
Mira laughed. “What is it about guys wanting what they can’t have?”
“I don’t know, sunshine. I’ve got more than I ever dreamed of.”
As the music played and the evening took on a magical feel, Pete and Jenna sidled up to Matt and Mira, followed by Bella, Caden, Amy, and Tony.
“Check out Pop,” Pete said to Matt.
“He looks happier than he’s been in a long time,” Matt said. “Did you know he could dance?”
